Sam and Sam Clark “The Moro Cookbook”

Maureen: I noticed the other day that they had this book on display at Waterstones. Maybe they read, “A Cookbook a Month!”

Kirstin: They should read us, if they don’t. But even if they don’t, this is a really good book. A classic.

Maureen: I thought it was interesting that you could see how much food has evoloved since it was first published in 2003.

Kirstin: Totally. They had explanations of all the mad ingredients, like tahini, but people know what that is now.

Maureen: Stuff then that seemed really exotic, then you can now find anywhere.

Kirstin: You used to have to hunt for some of those things, but now you don’t have to.

Maureen: Did you have any successes?

Kirstin: Well, I only posted one thing, which was the lamb, but we love it. The cookbook is worth keeping just for that recipe. I LOVE that lamb.

Maureen: It had so many good recipes for fish, so i’m going to keep it just for that. We had an excellent run of Fish Fridays. It was great.

“The Moro Cookbook”
Overall Grade (A- F): Kirstin A. Maureen: A
Best recipes: Kirstin: Roast shoulder of lamb stuffed with saffron rice Maureen: Any of the fish recipes. All fantastic.
Grade for Photography (A-F): B. (It looked a bit dated, but that’s to be expected for a cookbook that’s 12 years old.)
Any disasters? None.
Bookshelf or Charity Shop Donation? Bookshelf for both of us. Indeed, it has been on Kirstin’s bookshelf since 2003.

Maureen: I have to say that I was a bit dubious about the inclusion of the clams, but I went with them anyway. The recipe said “optional” but I thought I should give them a chance.

Tim: Why dubious?

Maureen: I suspect that I had a bad experience with them when I was younger. I’ve never been a fan of clams, but saying that, I haven’t eaten them in decades. I have to say that I’m enjoying these immensely.

Tim: I knew they would be good.

Maureen: What do you think, boys?

Andrew (15): Look at my plate. That tells you everything you need to know. (The plate is clean.)

Nicholas (11): Yum.

Maureen: What would you rate it?

Tim: Nine out of 10. Would eat again.

Maureen: Why not 10 out of 10?

Tim: I need to give you something to shoot for.

Maureen: Moro has been great for Fish Friday. We haven’t had a terrible meal yet.

Maureen: A few, but that was really down to it being Christmas and the endless parade of guests we had in December.

Tim: So what’s this? It smells good.

Maureen: It’s a courgette omelette.

Tim: It smells good.

Maureen: I think the lovely Ottolenghi has a lot to answer for. This book is old– it was first published 14 years ago– but when you read through it now, they give loads of explanations for ingredients that now are commonplace, which I think is mostly down to Ottolenghi.

Tim: Like what?

Maureen: Sumac is a perfect example. We have a full supply of sumac on our spice shelf, thanks to Ottolenghi. But in this book, they feel compelled to provide an entire paragraph and illustration about it. Do you like it, though?

Maureen: I know! Which as a total surprise because it smelled absolutely delicious when I was making it. I was completely intrigued by the method– cooking the pork in milk rather than roasting it– but Mike from Dring’s assured me this method, while strange, really did work. The method worked, but the taste is a bit disappointing.

Tim: Would you make it again?

Maureen: The potatoes I’d make again, definitely. The pork I probably wouldn’t. While I can appreciate the novelty factor of the way I cooked it, I just don’t think it’s as good as some of the other roast pork that I make.